By virtue of winning the pole for the Daytona 500, Patrick gained entry into this year’s exhibition Sprint Unlimited. She will be one of 18 drivers to take the green flag in the race Saturday night at 8:35 p.m.

It’s a race Patrick has been looking forward to for more than a year.

“I don't know if I thought about it the same time, but I thought about it the same day,” said Patrick, who became the first woman to win a pole for a Sprint Cup race when she qualified first for last year’s Daytona 500.

“I had just watched it, watched the incredible drivers that are in that race. To think I was going to be able to get to be in it, too, I was happy right off the bat.”

The race Saturday night could be big for Patrick and her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who were both rookies last season. After finishing eighth in the Daytona 500, Patrick struggled the rest of the season, finishing 27th in the final standings. Stenhouse, meanwhile, went on to finish 19th in points and win Rookie of the Year.

The Sprint Unlimited gives them a chance to get more experience in the draft at Daytona and prepare for next week’s Daytona 500. After winning the pole, Patrick got little drafting practice before last year’s 500 because she was trying to protect her fast car.

She and Stenhouse both were focused on the Unlimited when they arrived at Daytona.

“We were both talking about (that race) last night,” she said. “I'm happy I'm in the Sprint Unlimited (and) happy he is, too, because it's the both (of us on) the same schedule.

“That's something I definitely didn't overlook when I qualified on the pole for the 500. ‘Hey, I'm in the Sprint Unlimited race.’ It's pretty cool.”

Patrick will try to win the pole again Sunday (Daytona 500 qualifying is at 1 p.m.) and then focus on getting ready for a race she had a chance to win last year. The Daytona 500 is big for her because she has run well at Daytona since she made the jump from IndyCar to NASCAR.

“I've been fortunate, whether it's been in a Nationwide car or whether it's been in a Cup car here,” she said. “I've been lucky enough to run really well here. I have a pole in the Nationwide car and the Cup car. So I've been lucky with (former crew chief) Tony Eury Jr. in Nationwide and with (current crew chief Tony) Gibson now. They both build great speedway cars.

“That's so nice because when you get here, you kind of got what you got. You're not going to really move mountains once you get here with the car. It is the speed that it is based on the work that they did before we all arrived.”

Patrick also has been impressive in the draft. She ran in the lead draft throughout last year’s race and was third entering the final turn before getting shuffled to eighth. The high-speed draft seems to suit her style.

“Speedway racing is familiar for me,” she said. “It's very much like mile-and-a-half racing in IndyCar. So I think between those two things, it's a comfort zone for me.”